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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Jan. 30, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
Note 14. Commitments and Contingencies

Legal Proceedings

The Company is subject to legal proceedings and claims that have arisen in the ordinary course of its business and have not been finally adjudicated.  Although there can be no assurance as to the ultimate disposition of these matters, it is management’s opinion, based upon the information available at this time, that the expected outcome of these matters, individually and in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on the results of operations and financial condition of the Company.

Loyalty Memberships and Magazine Subscriptions Class Action
On November 14, 2018, three consumers filed a punitive class action complaint against the Company and Synapse Group, Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Boston Division (Case No.1:18-cv-12377-DPW) concerning enrollment in the Company’s Backstage Pass VIP loyalty program and associated magazine subscriptions.  The complaint alleged, among other things, that the Company’s “negative option marketing” misled consumers into enrolling for membership and subscriptions without obtaining the consumers’ consent.  The complaint sought to represent a nationwide class of “all persons in the United States” who were enrolled in and/or charged for Backstage Pass VIP memberships and/or magazine subscriptions, and to obtain statutory and actual damages on their behalf.

On April 11, 2019, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit.  On May 8, 2019, two of the plaintiffs from the dismissed lawsuit filed a similar putative class action in Massachusetts state court (Civ. Act. No. 197CV00331, Mass. Super. Ct. Hampden Cty.), based on the same allegations, but this time seeking to represent only a class of “FYE customers in Massachusetts” who were charged for VIP Backstage Pass Memberships and/or magazine subscriptions.  The Company removed that lawsuit back to federal court on June 12, 2019, and then filed a motion to dismiss and/or strike the plaintiff’s class action allegations on June 28, 2019.  On February 2, 2021 the court granted the Company’s motion, struck the class action allegations, and dismissed the individual plaintiffs’ claims for lack of jurisdiction.  Plaintiffs appealed the court’s decision on February 24, 2021.   The parties participated in a mandatory court-annexed mediation session on April 8, 2021.  The parties have agreed on terms to resolve the matter fully and finally, and the appeal will be dismissed without material impact on the financial results of the Company.

Store Manager Class Actions
There are two pending class actions.  The first, Spack v. Trans World Entertainment Corp. was originally filed in the District of New Jersey, April 2017 (the “Spack Action”).  The Spack Action alleges that the Company misclassified Store Managers (“SMs”) as exempt nationwide.  It also alleges that the Company improperly calculated overtime for Senior Assistant Managers (“SAMs”) nationwide, and that both SMs and SAMs worked “off-the-clock.”  It also alleges violations of New Jersey and Pennsylvania State Law with respect to calculating overtime for SAMs.  The second, Roper v. Trans World Entertainment Corp., was filed in the Northern District of New York, May 2017 (the “Roper Action”).  The Roper Action also asserts a nationwide misclassification claim on behalf of SMs.  Both actions were consolidated into the Northern District of New York, with the Spack Action being the lead case.

The Company has reached a settlement with the plaintiffs for both store manager class actions, which has received preliminary approval from the court.  The Company reserved $0.4 million for the settlement as of February 1, 2020.  Notices of the settlement have been issued to class members, and the settlement claims process is currently ongoing.  A final settlement approval hearing has been set by the court for April 14, 2021.